photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence's Juliana Hout gets her hand raised after a win in the fifth-place match in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

OVERLAND PARK — Lawrence girls wrestling is set to send five wrestlers and Free State will send four to the 6A state tournament in two weeks following regional tournaments on Saturday.

Lawrence competed in the 6A East in a tournament at Shawnee Mission South, while the Firebirds wrestled at Wichita South for the 6A West tournament. The Lions scored 53.0 team points, which put them 13th out of 18 teams. Free State had 50.0 team points, which was 13th out of the 18 teams in the tournament.

Lawrence had seven girls wrestle in the regional tournament and got all but the team’s two first-year wrestlers to qualify for state. The Lions would have had an eighth participant in Ivy Ford, but a late illness prevented Ford from wrestling.

“It’s been a good day,” Lawrence coach Carl Springer said. “We struggled right after Christmas, but we competed in some tough tournaments. But I told the girls, ‘Everything that happens before regionals is just practice.’ Regionals is what we’re working toward, and we’ve shown that today.”

Goldy Stephens placed third in the 235-pound bracket, going 2-1 in the tournament. The regional was light in the heavyweight bracket, so Stephens only wrestled three matches. Her first match came against the regional champion, with Stephens losing in a 7-1 decision. But the senior Lion bounced back with two quick pins to take third, the first in 32 seconds and the second in 43 seconds.

Two Lions placed fifth: Annabelle Ackerman in the 115-pound weight class and Juliana Hout in the 135-pound weight class. Ackerman started with a quarterfinal loss before getting a 33-second pin in the consolation bracket to guarantee her spot in the top six. Ackerman lost by a pin in the consolation semifinal but won with a pin in the fifth-place match.

Ackerman was down early in her match of the day and hyperextended her knee while being taken down. After taking a minute to recover, Ackerman finished strong with a pin.

Hout came in with a 15-21 record but had her best day of the season in the regional tournament. After being disqualified in last year’s tournament, Hout came in hungry for a memorable outing.

“She’s way better than she was last year,” Springer said. “She worked hard in the gym this offseason.”

Hout lost her first match but won with pins in her next two matches, which secured her spot at the state tournament. After being pinned in the consolation semifinals, Hout won her fifth-place match with a pin.

Lawrence’s Imogen Matter placed seventh in the 145-pound weight class, going 3-2 in the tournament and securing her spot in the state tournament. Matter started with a second-period pin but was pinned in the quarterfinal. Matter got a win in the blood round with a pin but lost the third consolation round bout with a pin. In the seventh-place match, Matter got a pin 16 seconds into the third period.

“Juliana and Imogen beat each other up in practice,” Springer said. “But they needed a partner to beat them up. That’s why they’re here and going to the show. This is what happens when you work hard.”

Paige Fishburn placed eighth in the 120-pound weight class, which secured her spot in the state tournament. She started with a loss in the quarterfinal but won her blood-round bout with a 44-second pin, leading to a tearful celebration. Fishburn was pinned in her final two matches, leading her to place eighth.

Dorcas Fakunmoju wrestled at the 100-pound weight class and went 0-2 with two pins. Miriam Zimmerman at 170 pounds lost both of her matches in the regional. Both Fakunmoju and Zimmerman wrestled for the first time this season.

Free State had four wrestlers place within the top eight of the West regional and will move on to the state tournament.

“I thought we wrestled pretty well on the backside,” Free State coach Melle Dye said. “The first time was a little tough for some of our girls. We had some really good girls that we were wrestling in the first round, but I thought we battled pretty hard in that second round.”

Dye said the Firebirds pulled off a couple of upsets in the second round, which was beneficial for even those who didn’t pull off more wins beyond that as those wrestlers move into offseason work.

“We had a couple girls get some upsets, and some girls win some matches that maybe they shouldn’t have won,” Dye said. “It gives them experience now they know what to look forward to next year. You know, I can say a lot of the girls were nervous, and rightfully so, because it’s the first time wrestling and this type of tournament. It’s a different atmosphere.”

In the 235-pound weight class, AJ Collins went 3-3 and placed sixth. She started with a pin late in the first period of her opening bout but lost her second match by a pin. Collins won her next two matches with two quick pins. Collins lost her next two matches, including the fifth-place match.

“AJ wrestled pretty well as a first-year girl who is a junior coming into this thing, especially being thrown into the region,” Dye said. “She got a really good seed and she showed up in one match that she was supposed to win, and then had a really good match in the blood round. She took care of business, and she was able to punch her ticket.”

Delaney Earl was Free State’s other sixth-place finisher. She started with an 11-1 major decision win but lost by a technical fall in the quarterfinal. Earl got two pins in the second and third consolation round matches but finished with two losses in the consolation semifinal and fifth-place match.

Earl’s win was historic for the Free State program, as she became the school’s first three-time state qualifier since the sport became sanctioned by the Kansas State High School Activities Association.

“I think she’s hungry,” Dye said. “She’s been there twice already. The first time she went 1-2, the second time she was in the blood round and came up short. This time, she’s really hungry to make it to that podium. And I think she’s got the experience.”

Brielle Preston placed eighth in the 110-pound weight class and went 2-3 in the tournament. Preston lost her first match but bounced back with two first period pins in the first and second consolation rounds. Preston lost her third consolation bracket bout by a pin, which put her in the seventh-place match, where she lost by a pin.

Jessica Berg placed eighth at 120 pounds, starting with a win in the first round on a pin. Berg lost in the quarterfinal before bouncing back to win with a pin in the consolation bracket. Berg lost her last two matches, the latter one being the seventh-place match, to secure her spot at eighth in the tournament.

Danica Sledd lost her two matches at the 100-pound weight class, and Ester Bigirimana lost her two 130-pound bouts. Presley White at 135 pounds got a win by pin but wasn’t able to place in the top eight, as did Ellie Earl in the 155-pound weight class. Madilyn Pierson started with a pin but lost her next two matches to miss the podium at the 190-pound weight class, and Laila Reetz lost her two tournament matches in the 170-pound bracket.

The Lions and the Firebirds will have two weeks to get healthy before the two-day state tournament, starting on Feb. 27 in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Paige Fishburn moves around the mat in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Annabelle Ackerman moves around the mat in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout grabs her opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout gets a takedown in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Goldy Stephens pins her opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Imogen Matter gets on top of an opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Paige Fishburn and an opponent grab each other in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Imogen Matter works for a pin in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Lawrence’s Juliana Hout grabs her opponent in the 6A East regional girls wrestling tournament on Saturday, Feb. 14, 2026, in Overland Park.